Transporter
in 2268]] transporter device from the 23rd century]] ]] ]] "Transporting really is the safest way to travel." : - Geordi La Forge, 2369 The transporter was a subspace device capable of almost instantaneously moving an object from one location to another. Transporters are able to dematerialize, transmit and reassemble an object. The act of transporting is often referred to as "beaming." * s transporter sound}} History transporter platform from Earth Starfleet]] )]] , with daughter, Danica Erickson]] s]] Transporters have been used by many civilizations throughout history, but the first Human-made transporter was invented by Emory Erickson sometime prior to 2121, with the first operable transporter being developed before 2139. When the transporter was in its infancy, there was much controversy surrounding its safety and reliability within United Earth. When it became approved for biomatter, there were even protests. The debates ranged from health issues to metaphysical debates over whether or not the person transported was the same person or a copy of the original. ( ) , the colonists who settled Terra 10 claimed to have had knowledge of transporter technologies two centuries before 2269.}} The was one of the first Starfleet starships to be equipped with a transporter authorized for transporting biological objects. Initially, however, it was utilized only sparingly due to a general distrust of the technology held by Enterprise crew members. Its use became much more common during Enterprise s search of the Delphic Expanse. ( , et al.) These early transporters were not very reliable and, even after Enterprise s mission, most were authorized for non-biological transports only. Even when transporter use became commonplace, most Humans and other races at a similar stage of technological development preferred traditional methods of travel. ( ) With the advent of safer transporters, biological transport became increasingly common, which led to the appearance of the first transporter-related diseases. The best known disease was transporter psychosis, which was diagnosed in 2209. ( ) As Starfleet continued its exploration of space, dependence on transporters grew, significantly. Transporters could simplify away missions, considerably, by eliminating the need for a shuttlecraft. In case of emergencies (medical or otherwise), the time saved could mean the difference between life or death. ( ) Transporters became the most reliable form of short-range transport by the 24th century. Innovations in transporter technology around this time included safer site-to-site transport, which allowed for transport between two locations without first returning to a transporter room. By the 29th century, Starfleet had developed temporal transporter technology that allowed travel through time in a very similar manner to standard transporters of earlier centuries. ( ; ) The basic principles behind Federation transporters didn't differ from those of other species, although they had a distinctive blue color (see below). (Star Trek) Operations By the 24th century, most space-faring civilizations of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants employed transporter technology for short-range transport of personnel and equipment. There were many advantages to utilizing transporters. Traveling by transporter was essentially instantaneous and an individual's sense of time while transporting was effectively non-existent. Benjamin Sisko and Harry Kim, while training at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, frequently transported to New Orleans and South Carolina, respectively, to see their parents. ( ; ) In general, a transporter chief was responsible for the operational readiness, maintenance and repair of a ship or station's transporter systems. By the 24th century, transporter systems could also be operated from computer terminals, other than those in transporter rooms. Furthermore, emergency transporter armbands, transponders and combadges could be programmed to remotely activate a transporter. Normally, remote transporter activation was limited to emergencies or when the crew of a vessel was not on board. ( ; ) A typical transport sequence began with a coordinate lock, during which the destination was verified and programmed, via the targeting scanners. Obtaining or maintaining a transporter lock enables the transporter operator to know the subject's location, even in motion, allowing the beaming process to start more quickly. This is an essential safety precaution when a starship away team enters a potentially dangerous situation that would require an emergency beam-out. A transporter lock was usually maintained by tracing the homing signal of a communicator or combadge. When there was a risk that such devices would be lost in the field or are otherwise unavailable, personnel could be implanted with a subcutaneous transponder before an away mission, to still provide a means to maintain a transporter lock. Alternatively, sensors could be used to scan for the biosign or energy signature of a subject, which could then be fed into the transporter's targeting scanner for a lock. Next, the lifeform or object to be beamed was scanned on the quantum level, using a molecular imaging scanner. At this point, Heisenberg compensators took into account the position and direction of all subatomic particles composing the object or individual and created a map of the physical structure being disassembled, amounting to billions of kiloquads of data. Simultaneously, the object was broken down into a stream of subatomic particles, also called the matter stream. The matter stream was briefly stored in a pattern buffer while the system compensates for Doppler shift to the destination. The matter stream was then transmitted to its destination across a subspace domain. As with any type of transmission of energy or radiation, scattering and degradation of the signal must be monitored closely. The annular confinement beam (ACB) acted to maintain the integrity of the information contained in the beam. Finally, the initial process was reversed and the object or individual was reassembled at the destination. From its earliest incarnations until sometime between the early 2270s and mid 2280s, transporters generally immobilized the subject being beamed during dematerialization and rematerialization. Advances in transporter technology after that point allowed a person being transported to move, during the process, in a limited fashion. , as well. Beginning with , transport subjects were shown being able to engage in limited movements and even conversation while in transport.}} Transporter operations (alternate reality) 's ]] In the alternate reality caused by Nero, the transporter operation process included the use of the annular confinement beam, followed by electromagnetic focusing, the use of a gravitational compensator. The transporter operator then applied a temporal differential, after which he engaged a particle lock. ( ) Safety features, protocols and components As with other Starfleet technology, the transporter had its own set of safety features, protocols and procedures. In an emergency, many of these safety systems could be modified or circumvented. Early versions of the transporter in the 22nd century appeared to have no protection against external incursions into an active transport. "Foreign matter," such as blowing debris, could get caught up in the transport and become embedded or integrated into the subject. ( ) Energy weapons fire would also affect the subject, unless it was sufficiently far into the transport that the fire passed through it harmlessly. ( ) By the late 23rd century, however, transporters shielded the subject from these external incursions. ( , ) Biofilters were uniformly used on all Federation transporters by the 24th century. These filters functioned to decontaminate transported objects and prevent harmful substances, pathogens, and even certain forms of radiation (including theta radiation), from contaminating the rest of the ship. This process replaced earlier systems that required the subject to be fully rematerialized on the transport platform before applying an energy-based process to topically decontaminate the transportee. ( , ) Though the biofilters performed a general contaminant removal with each transport, they were far from perfect; previously-unknown infections or viruses occasionally failed to register, requiring the filters to be recalibrated to recognize the new threat. As such, biofilters were incapable of filtering out certain types of substances and pathogens, most notably psychic energy. ( ) Biofilters were also unable to detect and filter certain types of phased reality lifeforms without prior calibration. Biofilters also functioned to detect and disable weapons and explosives (remat detonators). ( ) Additionally, pattern buffers were used to compensate for relative motion during transport, ensuring that transported matter materialized in the correct location. Except in cases of extreme emergency, protocols prohibited transporting objects while traveling at warp speed. ( ) Such transports are possible, however, if the two vessels match warp velocities. ( , ) Diagnostic and maintenance tools *Magneton scanner *Micro-resonator *Parametric scanner *Synchronic meter *Test cylinder System components *Annular confinement beam *Biofilter *Gravitational compensator *Heisenberg compensator *Molecular imaging scanner *Particle lock *Pattern buffer **multiplex pattern buffer *Phase discriminator *Phase transition coil *Primary energizing coil *Site-to-site transport interlock *Targeting scanner *Transporter console Transporter types Almost all Starfleet facilities and starships were equipped with at least one transporter device. The number of transporter devices differed; for example, most shuttlecraft had one transporter while starships had twenty. ( ) When cargo bays were present, these often contained cargo transporters. The visual effects of transporter beams varied among the types used by different species of the galaxy, and the different models of transporter. 22nd century Starfleet transporters showed a number of blue "sparkles" moving to one center, forming a small sphere that then disappeared (dematerialization). 23rd century Federation transporters, during the 2260s, showed a shower of golden "sparkles" during materialization and dematerialization. Klingon units during the same time emitted a solid golden "haze" effect. are transported off a Borg vessel]] By the 2280s, both races utilized transporters that appeared to utilize a "wave" effect, the Federation's being blue and the Klingons with golden yellow. 24th century Federation transporters emitted a distinct blue/white "sparkle" when used. Klingon transporters displayed a red/orange sparkle and Romulan transporters a green sparkle. Cardassian and Ferengi displayed red/orange "swirls" of energy. Borg displayed green "swirls" of energy. Another difference was the speed by which a transporter operates. Compared to transporters used by the Hunters, a Gamma Quadrant species, in 2369, the Federation transporter was slow. ( ) Furthermore, each type of transporter beam had a distinctive sound pattern associated with it. Along with differences in "tone," the volume of the sound also varied. Klingon transporters in the 2260s, for example, were completely silent. Production of Mark V transporters was halted in 2356. By 2371, Mark VI transporters were considered outdated. Mark VII transporters were able to transport unstable biomatter, as long as the phase transition inhibitor was adjusted. ( ) Personnel ]] transporter console (ca. 2260s)]] 's 2258]] The most commonly used type of transporter was the personnel transporter, designed primarily for personnel. Personnel transporter rooms usually consisted of a transporter console, a transporter platform with an overhead molecular imaging scanner, primary energizing coils, and phase transition coils. A pattern buffer with a biofilter was typically located on the deck below the transporter room. The outer hull of a starship incorporated a number of emitter pads for the transporter beam. Personnel transporters worked on the quantum level to enable secure transport of lifeforms. Biofilters built into the transporter systems prevented dangerous microorganisms from boarding the ship. Transporter platforms had a variable number of pads, arranged in various layouts (by model and by manufacturing race): The transporters installed on Earth's NX-class starships featured one large circular pad that took up the entire platform. It was large enough to transport two to three people, provided they stood close together. By the 23rd century, Federation transporter platforms featured multiple independent pads, typically six in a hexagonal configuration. One- and two-pad platforms were also available. This became something of a standard layout for Federation transporters well into the next century. As an example, the platforms used on board starships had the familiar six individual pads, with an over-sized pad (in the center of the platform) that could handle small cargo. The model of transporter installed on board starships featured a ¾ circle platform and three personnel pads in a triangular formation. Some 23rd century Klingon platforms featured six hexagonal pads in a straight line. Others, such as those on Birds-of-Prey, featured a small number of platforms in a tight group. ( ; ) Cardassian transporter platforms in the 24th century featured three to five triangular pads placed close together, such as those installed on Deep Space 9. The personnel transporter was a reliable but sometimes fragile piece of equipment. The phase coils, in particular, were vulnerable to feedback patterns and could be severely damaged as result of power surges or low-level phaser fire. ( ) Cargo Cargo transporters were larger-scale versions of personnel transporters and were optimized for the transport of inanimate objects. These transporters were adapted to handle massive quantities of material. In case of an emergency, cargo transporters could be reset to quantum-level mode, making lifeform transport possible. One reason for such a reconfiguration was to expedite an evacuation of personnel. ( ) Cargo transporters were mostly found inside the cargo bay of a starship or space station. Dedicated cargo transporter platforms used by Starfleet in the 24th century typically featured one large circular or oblong pad. (Star Trek: The Next Generation) Portable Portable transporters were self-contained units capable of direct site-to-site transport without using a fixed transporter pad. While having the capability to be moved from one place to another, they were known to be rather large and bulky. Most portable transporters were incapable of transporting themselves along with their payload. In 2372 of an alternate timeline, Tom Paris owned an advanced, portable, site-to-site transporter device capable of transporting itself along with its payload. Also of note, this device was small enough to be carried easily on a person. ( ) It is unknown whether this device existed in the normal timeline. Emergency Emergency transporters were a special type that had a low power requirement; in case of a ship-wide power failure, the crew could use these transporters for emergency evacuation. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual; ) By the late 24th century, emergency transport was further improved through Starfleet's development of a single-person, single-use, one-way emergency transport unit. The device was small enough to be hand-held and could transport to specified coordinates with a single touch. Because of its extreme limitations, this device was not widely deployed and was still considered a prototype in 2379. ( ) Micro-transporters By 2375, the Federation had developed a micro-transporter – essentially a scaled-down version of a regular transporter – which was capable of transporting small amounts of material within an almost-imperceptible span of time. When attached to a TR-116 rifle, it could be used to transport the bullet to anywhere within the transporter's range, where it would continue at its original velocity until striking a target. ( ) Non-"beam" transporters , an example of a non-beam transporter]] Certain species have experimented with transporters that differ in technology and theory than those used by most species encountered by the Federation. The Sikarians were known to use a folded-space transporter, relying on dimensional shifting rather than matter-to-energy conversion. Similarly, the Iconians perfected their own form of transport, known as gateways, which were capable of near instantaneous transport over vast distances. ( ; ) Other transporters *Folded-space transporter *Multidimensional transporter device *Sub-quantum teleportation *Temporal transporter *Translocator Limitations Time Although beaming was quick, it had its limits. A person could not stay within the matter stream too long. If this happened, his or her molecular pattern would degrade and the transporter signal would be lost. This signal had to stay above fifty percent to be able to re-materialize the person. A time-frame of around ninety seconds was about the maximum before that fifty-percent signal loss was reached. ( ) The crew of the was able to extend this time by using pattern enhancers. In an effort to transport refugee telepaths to another world, Captain Janeway was able to hide many telepaths, in addition to a few of her crew, in the transporter buffers. This process, referred to as transporter suspension, produced serious complications. Because Voyager s guests and crew had to hide from Devore authorities repeatedly over the course of several weeks, acute cellular degradation was found in many of the refugees and in Tuvok. Although The Doctor was able to treat them, the degradation was cumulative. If the process had been continued, the people may not have survived the transport. ( ) The longest recorded instance of a person remaining in transporter suspension was that of Captain Montgomery Scott. He was able to survive for a period of seventy-years years, while suspended in an extensively modified transporter buffer and setting it to loop diagnostic mode, after the ship he was on crashed into a Dyson sphere and he was left with no way to call for help before he ran out of supplies. ( ) Shields In general, transporters could not be used while the deflector shield of a ship was active, or a deflector shield was in place over the destination. However, it was possible to take advantage of EM "windows" that were created by the normal rotation of shield frequencies. During these periods, a hole opened, through which a transporter beam could pass. To use this window, timing needed to be absolute and usually required substantial computer assistance. This technique was theorized and first practiced in 2367, by transporter chief Miles O'Brien. ( ) Magnetic shields could also be used to prevent beaming. Rura Penthe was protected by such a shield to prevent prisoners from escaping. ( ) There was a type of shielding that allowed transport, although it had the limitation of not allowing phasers to be fired through it. ( ) The limitation of transporters versus shields was not universal, however. The Aldeans were able to pass through their own shielding using transporters, though the shielding was impenetrable to other forms of technology and weapons. Similarly, both the Borg and Dominion used transporter technology that was able to penetrate standard Federation shielding. Some adaptations, including rotating shield frequencies, could inhibit this ability but not eliminate it altogether. ( ; ) Voth were able to beam entire starships into a single Voth city ship, despite its shield being raised and running at full capacity. ( ) Warp speed Transporters were not allowed to be used while a ship was at warp speed because of the severe spatial distortions caused by its warp field. ( ) Transport at warp was highly dangerous and had been attempted safely only a handful of times. ( ) There were, however, ways to circumvent this limitation. * If both ships maintained exact velocity (that is, the warp field on both vessels must have the same integral value/factor) transport at warp speed was possible. Failure to maintain the same velocities would result in severe loss of the annular confinement beam (ACB) and pattern integrity. * If the ship was traveling at warp speed and the object to be beamed was stationary, transport was possible by synchronizing the ACB with the warp core frequency. This would cause difficulties in obtaining a good pattern lock. The Maquis were known to have used this method. ( ) * Sometime between 2369 and 2387, Montgomery Scott discovered the necessary formulas enabling transwarp beaming. ( ) "Near-warp" transport was also possible, but required extensive adjustments to the transport procedure. It involved the transporting ship energizing its transporters at the same time as it dropped out of warp for just long enough for the matter stream to be transmitted. The ship would then immediately jump back into warp. Persons who had experienced this form of transport remarked that there was a sensation of being merged with an inanimate object briefly before the transporter beam reassembled them. Near-warp transport has also been referred to as "touch-and-go downwarping". ( ) Faster-than-warp speeds In 2374, Voyager personnel successfully used transporters to beam stranded crewmembers from the while both ships were traveling within a quantum slipstream. Voyager accelerated on a pursuit course during the transport, bypassing the velocity limitations imposed by warp field dynamics. ( ) s launch date, presumably an unmodified Mark VII transporter was used for transport at quantum slipstream velocities.}} Range During the 22nd century, standard Earth transporter systems had a range of 10,000 kilometers; however, by the 24th century, standard transporter systems maximum range was about 40,000 kilometers, though a special type of transport, called subspace transport could beam over several light years. ( ; ) Many 24th century starships were equipped with an emergency transporter system, but these only had a range of at best ten kilometers. ( ) Although having a maximum range of about 40,000 kilometers, some conditions adversely affect the effective range. In at least one instance – due to missing components of Voyager's primary computer systems, – the starship Voyager had to be within 500 kilometers of a planet's surface to use transporters on Kathryn Janeway and the hologram character Leonardo da Vinci. ( ) The maximum range of a transporter differs per species, depending on what kind of technologies they've used to build it. The transporter with the longest known range is that of the Sikarians, with a range of about 40,000 light years; however this was due to their planet's large quartz mantle which amplifies their transporter signal. Because of this, Sikarian transporter technology works only on their planet. ( ) Gary Seven's mysterious sponsors on the Assigners' planet possessed transporter technology with a range of at least a thousand light years according to Spock. Scotty later noted that Seven's beam was so powerful it fused all of recording circuits, and therefore he could not say exactly how far it transported Seven, or even whether it transported him through time. Exactly how they achieved this effect remains unknown, since there has been no subsequent contact with them, and they hide their entire homeworld in some fashion. There were, however, other indications that their technology was considerably advanced beyond that of the 23rd century Federation. ( ) The Vedala, one of the oldest space-faring races, also possessed transporter technology capable of beaming people and equipment to and from other planets (presumably in different star systems.) ( ) Dominion transporter technology, enhanced with a homing transponder, was said to have a range of at least three light years. ( ) Radiation and substances Some forms of radiation and substances, usually minerals such as kelbonite, prevented transporters from working. In most instances the interference was caused by scattering of the annular confinement beam or sensor interference preventing a transporter lock. Interference could be natural or artificial and usually occurred during surface-to-starship transport but might also occur between vessels. Examples of other radiation and substance limitations are: *Magnesite *Thoron radiation *Dampening field *Ionic interference (see also Ion storm) *Hyperonic radiation *Electromagnetic storm Devices Over the centuries numerous devices have been designed to overcome some limitations of transporters, and still others to intentionally interfere with transporters. ]] By the 24th century, usage of pattern enhancers was common aboard most Starfleet vessels, most often deployed to a planet's surface during emergency situations where transport was critical. Devices that were specifically designed to block transporter signals or to interfere with them were usually deployed under hostile conditions, thus making use of a transporter impossible or very dangerous and hampering maneuverability of personnel or material. Some of these devices were: *Transporter scrambler *Transport inhibitor *Remat detonator *Scattering field In 2375, Vedek Fala, gave a small crystal to Colonel Kira as a gift. The device, of unknown origin and design, was actually a transporter tag, which instantly transported her to Empok Nor several light years distant. ( ) Also, in 2293, Spock used a viridium patch to locate and lock on to Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy on Rura Penthe. While not a transporter device, it was used to locate the subject with the transporter. ( ) Injuries Although someone with minor injuries could be transported, this was not possible when the injuries were extensive. When the brain stem was damaged and autonomic functions were failing, transport was only possible if a volunteer controlled the person's autonomic functions. This was done by placing a neural pad at the base of the skull of both individuals and then connect both people via a medical tricorder. This way autonomic functions could be stabilized for a short period of time and made transport possible. ( ) Special operations Disabling active weapons By the 24th century, the transporter had the capability to disable any active weapon during transport. This could be accomplished by removing the discharged energy from the transporter signal, or by "deactivating" the weapon itself. ( ) The transporter was also capable of removing weapons entirely during transport. When the Defiant beamed aboard survivors from a damaged Jem'Hadar ship, the transporter was programmed to remove the crew's disruptors and other weapons. ( ) Falsifying disintegration by a phaser Although transports usually took several seconds to complete, it was possible to transport an individual to safety a split-second before they were to be struck by a phaser beam, making it appear as though they had been disintegrated. By 2373, Section 31 had access to such technology and used it to fake the death of operative Luther Sloan in front of the Romulan Continuing Committee. Since William Ross later told Julian Bashir that Tal Shiar chief Koval had fired a phaser at Sloan, rather than a disruptor pistol, it is likely the weapon had been specially modified and was integral to creating the illusion. ( ) Connecting two transporters Two transporters could be bridged together by means of a system interlock to facilitate direct transport between them. Federation vessels could activate other Federation vessels' transporters remotely by means of this. This meant that two transporters could be connected to each other to allow beaming in situations where it would otherwise not be possible due to ionic or some other type of interference. ( ) First, a remote link to the other transporter had to be established, then the system interlock needed to be engaged and the pattern buffers of both transporters were synchronized. When the phase transition coils were in stand-by mode energizing could commence. A side-effect of using this form of transport to beam through ionic interference was that the person who was beamed might feel a slight tingling due to static. ( ) Intra-ship beaming In the mid 2260s, beaming from a transporter pad to a location within the same vessel was a very risky proposition. The limitations of the technology at that time made it highly probable that any error would result in the subject rematerializing within a bulkhead, deck, or other structure. As such the procedure had rarely been attempted.( ) Interestingly, the first ocurance of this procedure was used without incident a century earlier. ( ) Commander Riker and Tasha Yar used this operation during a rescue. ( ) When cargo instead of passengers was beamed aboard, Riker tells Yar to beam the cargo to the hold without a second thought. Intra-ship transport appears to be both safe and commonplace by the 2360s, as, beyond the aforesaid example, the technique was used a number of times aboard the : * Captain Jean-Luc Picard and First Officer William T. Riker both beam from a transporter room directly onto the bridge. ( ). * When several Bringloidi are beamed aboard carrying assorted farm animals, Picard orders them beamed into Cargo Hold 7. ( ). * While escaping a mind-controlled crew, Wesley Crusher engaged a program that beamed him from Deck 36 to Transporter Room 3. ( ). * Ambassasor Ves Alkar's assistant, Liva, is beamed away from her quarters on command from Captain Picard to prevent her being used by Alkar. ( ) * Picard, Riker, and several others transport from a shuttle in its bay directly to the observation lounge. ( ) "Site-to-site" transport transporter performs a site-to-site transport]] The earliest known example of site-to-site transport carried out by Federation personnel occurred in 1986 (though the transporter was on board a vessel that had traveled back in time from 2286). A Klingon vessel stolen by the crew of the late starship Enterprise had site-to-site transporter capabilities. ( ) By at least 2268, limitations in pattern buffer and targeting scanner technology had been sufficiently overcome that it was now possible to transport from one location directly to another without the need to re-materialize the subject in between. ( ) In the 24th century, this operation was enabled and controlled by the site-to-site transport interlocks. ( ) Site-to-site transport holds the matter stream in the pattern buffer while the ACB was re-targeted. Afterward, the matter stream was redirected to the new location and normal re-materialization was carried out. Using this technique, any computer terminal with access to the main transporter sub-systems, or any applicable subroutine, could be used to control transporter operations, including bridge terminals. This technique could only be utilized when sufficient energy was available to the transporters; all normal transporter limitations would still apply. ( ) This procedure was particularly useful in emergency medical situations where time was of the essence. Subjects could be beamed directly to sickbay where treatment could be carried out quickly. ( , ) Ensign Wesley Crusher used this method in an attempt to outrun those (especially Riker and Worf) who were taken over by the Risa/Ktarian mind game. ( ) Transporter trace By the 23rd century, it was common practice to store a "transporter trace" (a stored copy of a subject's molecular pattern as scanned during a normal transporter cycle). While it was usually kept for security purposes, in extreme situations the transporter could be modified to use an older trace pattern in place of the latest scan for the purpose of re-configuring the matter stream during molecular conversion, effectively replacing a subject with a younger version of itself during matter re-construction. The first known use of this technique was in 2270, when it was used to restore the reverse-aged crew of the to their adult versions. ( ) Another notable use was in 2364, to restore Captain Jean-Luc Picard after an unsuccessful attempt by an alien energy being to merge with him. ( ) The transporter trace itself would be stored for the duration of the person's tour of duty; when that person was reassigned, his or her trace would be deleted. ( ) When necessary, a person's DNA could be used to create a transporter trace. This technique was utilized by Chief Miles O'Brien and Lieutenant Geordi La Forge during a mission to the Darwin Genetic Research Station in 2365. Transporter traces were also used as a medical tool, to help in spotting anomalies at the molecular level. When comparing the transporter ID traces of Deanna Troi, Data and Miles O'Brien before and after they were taken over by Ux-Mal criminals, Doctor Crusher was able to detect that their nervous systems were generating high levels of synaptic and anionic energy. ( ) Another example of such an application was in 2373, when The Doctor used Harry Kim's transporter trace records to determine when he had been infected with Taresian DNA. ( ) Deflecting the transporter beam A transporter beam could be deflected to different coordinates by a tractor beam so that the objects being transported would rematerialize at a point other than the intended target coordinates. Such action could only be detected by examining the transporter log. An unusual amount of antigraviton particles would be present in the emitter coil, as those particles do not occur naturally but are used by tractor beams. Locating the coordinates at which rematerialization took place was not possible; however, it was possible to calculate the point of origin of the tractor beam itself. ( ) Single person transport A transporter could be programmed to only allow one particular person to be transported to and from the transporter pad. Thus programmed, no other persons could use the transporter. If the use of the transporter was further prohibited, by use of an unknown access code, using the transporter was almost impossible. The only way to circumvent this lock-out was to use the transporter trace from the person who re-programmed the transporter and to input this into the transporter while it was in its testing mode. When in testing mode, a transporter would accept simulated inputs. When the main computer could not be used, several tricorders could be networked together to control the transporter. To circumvent the lock-out, access codes from a few bridge officers were necessary to force it in a recall loop. So, everyone who would beam down would be seen by the transporter as the person who re-programmed it in the first place. ( ) Faking a transporter accident A transporter accident could be faked in such a way that a transporter chief would think a person died during transport. For example, this could be done by adjusting the carrier wave of a second transporter to the carrier wave of the first. The person would then beam off the first transporter while the second transporter beamed in a small amount of genetically identical material. Only a doctor could determine if this material was really the person in question. The transporter trace could be used to compare the logged DNA pattern "trace" to the "dead" person. Single-bit errors might be detected if the "dead" material was replicated. Only transporters that operate on the same subspace frequency as the spoofed transporter can be used for this type of ruse. For example, some Romulan transporters were capable of this. Another indicator of such a ruse would be a temporary increase of the matter to energy ratio while transport was in progress. However, this increase could fall with in the nominal operational parameters of the transporter in question. Investigation of the transporter logs would be necessary to find evidence of a second transporter signal. ( ) Emergency mass beaming Some transporters could transport large numbers of people, and either rematerialize them simultaneously, or in groups. However, this was not often done due to safety reasons. In 2268, the crew of the used their transporters in this manner to capture members of the crew of a Klingon ship. In 2377, the USS Voyager transported over two hundred Klingons off a battle cruiser by expanding the transporter's buffer capacity. ( ; ) Narrow confinement beam Setting a transporter's annular confinement beam to a narrow width would sometimes allow it to penetrate some types of shielding or other interference. One noteworthy application of this was to penetrate Borg shields, a procedure developed by scientists Magnus and Erin Hansen. ( ) Skeletal lock Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres invented an emergency measure of locking a transporter beam on to minerals in the targets skeletal system in order to allow transport when biosigns could not be detected from transporting origins. This allowed personnel to be transported back to the ship, even if regular means of transporter lock failed. She came up with it after a conventional signal lock failed during an emergency beam-out from a Borg cube in 2373.( ) Medical Transports :See Fetal transport. , the transporter would've played a role in the birth of , though it would've also created another loss - in an emergency, it was possible to beam a child out of a womb, but, being an "inexact science", this came at the cost of the mother's life. While J.J. Abrams thought it was a "really cool" idea that the technology could be used in this way, the plan was dropped because the production staff didn't want to introduce the transporter so early in the film, and felt that the end of such a traumatic opening scene needed the "victory" of 's survival.}} Other operations *Transporter Code 14 *Near-warp transport Transporter accidents Though transporters were a quite safe way to get from one point to another, there were still cases of transporter accidents: Transporter psychosis In early models of the transporter, errors at the molecular level during rematerialization could cause serious damage to living subjects over time. As a result of these errors, some subjects developed a syndrome that was named "transporter psychosis". ( ) Rocks embedded in skin .]] In 2151, Crewman Ethan Novakovich was beamed back from the face of a planet later known as Archer IV by the still-experimental transporter system aboard the . The emergency transport was attempted during a fierce windstorm. Upon arrival, he was unconscious and had rocks, leaves and other debris from the planet's surface embedded in his skin due to a malfunction in the phase discriminator. Phlox was able to remove the debris and repair the rather extensive damage, and Novakovich was expected to fully recover. ( ) Split one entity into good and evil entities On stardate 1672.1, in 2266, a strange ore had altered the function of the transporter, causing one of the most bizarre transporter accidents on record, in which Captain James T. Kirk was split into two separate entities. One man embodied all of Kirk's so-called positive qualities and the other embodied all of his "evil" qualities. It was some time before the mishap was discovered, and the malignant version of Kirk roamed the ship, stealing brandy, assaulting crewmen, and even attempting to rape Yeoman Rand. When he was cornered, and finally captured in the engine room, his errant phaser shot damaged the transporter further. Scotty and Spock isolated and repaired the damage. Their repairs were confirmed when a test animal, which had previously been split in a similar manner to Kirk, was sent through the transporter in an attempt to reintegrate the two creatures. Upon reintegrating, it rematerialized dead, but McCoy speculated that this was the result of the animal not understanding what was happening to it and dying of fright, where the sentient and rational Kirk would be able to understand what was being done to him and thus be able to cope with it. Crippled with indecision, Kirk was able, barely, to make the trip, and his two halves were reintegrated once again. ( ) .}} Transport to the mirror universe In 2267, an ion storm near the Halkan homeworld resulted in a power surge in the ''Enterprise'''s transporter, causing momentary interdimensional contact with a parallel universe. Captain Kirk, Doctor McCoy, Commander Scott, and Lieutenant Uhura, who were beaming up to the Enterprise at the time, materialized in the other universe, transposing with their counterparts from that universe, who experienced an identical accident at the same time. Later, after reviewing the events which led up to the accident, the Enterprise crewmembers were able to recreate the power surge using energy tapped from the ship's engines, and return to their own universe. ( ) According to Intendant Kira, all transporters were subsequently redesigned in order to prevent a recurrance of such an event. Despite this, the Terran rebels were able to develop a multidimensional transporter device capable of reconfiguring transporters for use in beaming from one universe to the other. ( ) Sonak in 2272]] Accidental deaths In 2272, two Enterprise crewmen, including Commander Sonak, were killed in a transporter malfunction when beaming up to the ship while the Enterprise transporter was down for repairs. The transportation was aborted, sending the deforming bodies of the crewmembers back to Earth; the transport chief reported back, shaken, "Enterprise, what we got back didn't live long... fortunately." ( ) In early 2375, Weyoun 5 was killed in a transporter accident. Damar was to have been with him but "had been called away", casting suspicion on him for possibly "arranging" the incident. ( ) Split one entity into two identical entities In 2361, on Nervala IV, the was conducting an evacuation of the science outpost on the planet. Lieutenant William T. Riker was part of the away team at the time. An unusual distortion field meant the Potemkin had difficulty beaming up Riker. A second confinement beam was initiated to overcome these difficulties, with the intent of reintegrating the two beams in the transporter buffer. This was unnecessary as only one beam was successful at transporting Riker, the modulation of the distortion caused the second beam to be reflected back down to the surface, materializing two Rikers, one on the ship, and one on the planet's surface. Unlike the two Kirks created in 2266, both Rikers were functionally identical to the original man. The Potemkin left orbit, unknowingly abandoning the duplicate Riker. After eight years, this accident was discovered by the Enterprise-D which revisited the planet, found the second Riker and brought him back to the ship. ( ) Rematerialization without clothes During Chakotay's Starfleet career, he was involved in a transporter malfunction. His uniform ended up in the pattern buffer and he materialized wearing only his combadge. ( ) Time travel In 2371, Benjamin Sisko, Julian Bashir and Jadzia Dax were accidentally transported to the year 2024, by an explosion in a microscopic singularity while passing through the solar system at the time of the beam-out. Fortunately, Miles O'Brien was able to devise a way to send Kira Nerys and himself to different periods of Earth's history to try and find out where the away team was sent, and then bring them back home. However, while in the 21st century, Sisko accidentally caused the death of Gabriel Bell, forcing him to assume the identity of this historical figure. As a result, Sisko is actually in all the historical photos of Bell. ( ) Transfer to holograms In 2372, the patterns of Sisko, Kira, Worf, Dax, and Miles O'Brien were temporarily stored in the computer core of Deep Space 9 to prevent their patterns from degrading because of an explosion on their runabout at the time of beam-out. Their physical patterns were integrated into a holoprogram run by Julian Bashir, and each took on one of the holographic roles in the program, while their brain patterns were spread throughout the station's computer systems. Eventually, Michael Eddington was able to restore the crewmembers back to normal by using the still-active transporters on the Defiant. ( ) Two entities merged into one Lysosomal enzymes of an alien orchid were the cause of another accident in that same year. Tuvok, Neelix and the orchid were temporarily merged into one being during transport; as the orchid aided microscopic entities in breeding by allowing them to combine with each other, it accidentally caused Tuvok and Neelix to combine when they were broken down into atoms during transport. "Tuvix", as he named himself (or "themselves"), was a complete mixture of the talents of both crewmembers. After discovering how to separate the two patterns and retrieve both Tuvok and Neelix, Tuvix protested that such a procedure would be equivalent to murdering him, but the procedure was undertaken anyway, and Tuvok and Neelix were restored. ( ) Other transporter accidents * ** ** * * * * ** ** Because of these accidents, some people suffered from transporter phobia or experienced transporter shock. It should be noted that by the mid-24th century, there were only an average of two or three transporter accidents a year across the Federation, yet millions of people were transported every day. ( ) Appendices Background information Origins * The transporter was developed by the production staff of the original series as a solution of how to get crewmen off a planet quickly. The only alternative was to either land a massive ship each week, or regularly use shuttles for landings, both of which would have wreaked havoc on the production budget. (Star Trek Encyclopedia, 3rd ed., p. 519) Although both of these were proposed in the initial draft of the series outline Star Trek is... (with regular shuttlecraft landings and rare descents of the ship), a revision of the same document (as reprinted in The Making of Star Trek, pp. 22-30) contains one of the first examples wherein the concept of the transporter was outlined. (http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/1_Original_Series/Star_Trek_Pitch.pdf; The Making of Star Trek, p. 26) The description posits a not-yet-named "energy-matter scrambler which can 'materialize' parties onto the planet's surface." The outline goes on to say, "This requires maximum beam power and is a tremendous drain on the cruiser's power supply. It can be done only across relatively short line-of-sight distances. Materials and supplies can also be moved in this same manner, but require a less critical power expenditure." (The Making of Star Trek, p. 26) * Gene Roddenberry considered the invention of the transporter to be highly fortunate and "one of many instances where a compromise forced us into creative thought and actually improved on what we planned to do." He further explained, "If someone had said, 'We will give you the budget to land the ship,' our stories would have started slow, much too slow .... Conceiving the transporter device ... allowed us to be well into the story by script page two." (The Making of Star Trek, pp. 43-44) * The script of , the first Star Trek pilot episode, refers to the transporter as consisting of a device that dominates the transporter room and "could be an artist's nightmare-conception of a futuristic x-ray machine," as well as a "glassed-in transporter chamber" that the device hovers over. * The series writers' guide (third revision, dated ) stated about the transporter, "Its range is limited to about 16,000 miles." http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/1_Original_Series/Star_Trek_TOS_Writer%27s_Guide.pdf * The writers/directors guide for Star Trek: Phase II contained the exact same statement. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 96) For that series, a "transporter station" was to have been incorporated into the Enterprise bridge, complete with a working transporter. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 20) This was to have served as an equipment transporter, for beaming such things as small tools to the bridge. (text commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD) On , Gene Roddenberry posited that transporters of Phase II would be able to beam through the Enterprise s forcefield when it was fully raised, by opening a section of the forcefield in order to make it weak or moderate. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 50) However, the writers/directors guide for the series clarified that the Enterprise s transporter could not be operated while the ship's deflector screen was in operation. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 97) * During the development of Star Trek: The Next Generation, some consideration was given to the possibility of featuring a transporter on the bridge, though this idea was soon dropped in favor of turbolifts. (Starlog issue #125, p. 46) * The transporter was designed by Jim Martin. (The Art of Star Trek, p. 112) Sets and props * The transporter pads from TOS were simple es. These were the only part of the transporter set that remained when the set was redesigned for . (audio commentary, ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (Blu-ray)) Star Trek: The Next Generation also used the lenses as the units in the ceiling directly over the pads and the same components were additionally included in the transporter of the in Star Trek: Voyager. (The Art of Star Trek, p. 78) Michael Okuda remembered, "One day during, I think, ''Voyager, I happened to be working in the catwalks above the set and I was looking at those lenses. Five of them looked yellowed and chipped, so I believe that they were from the original series. One of them looked a lot newer." (audio commentary, ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Blu-ray)) (See this Flash recreation from a scene deleted from for an indication of the luminosity of a 10,000 watt Fresnel lens.) * The equipment transporter proposed for the Enterprise bridge of Star Trek: Phase II was actually built. One remnant of its construction, a square arrangement of four green lights, was incorporated into the Enterprise bridge of . The Regula I transporter in that film involved spotlights reflecting off a behind the set, a simple way of achieving the effect of energy patterns on the transporter chamber's back wall. (text commentary, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD) * The faint pattern on the insides of the TNG transporter took its inspiration from a sweater owned by Herman Zimmerman, who created the pattern while prepping TNG. Interested in doing something different from the psychedelic moire patterns of the original series' transporter but not having liked any of the patterns that he or his staff devised for potential use, a frustrated Zimmerman finally took off his sweater and declared, "Here, this is what we'll use!" The pattern was thereafter incorporated into the design of the Enterprise-D's transporter, which was reused as the Enterprise-A's transporter in and . (text commentary, ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (Special Edition) DVD) * For , the transporter of the Enterprise-D was given a new interior lighting scheme that included the addition of amber gels behind some of the upper transporter lenses from TOS. (The Art of Star Trek, p. 278) ]] * According to ''Star Trek: Communicator, the transporter incorporated "vertical edge-lit Plexiglas and spiky sonic foam lining the walls." (Star Trek: Communicator issue #111, p. 52) Sound effects * The operation of the transporter incorporated numerous sound effects. Douglas Grindstaff, sound editor for the original series, commented, "When they transported onto a planet, it was a hunk of music. I played with it, and I actually shaved it to fit the optical effect, so that it would be perfect." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 83) * Upon recreating the TOS-era transporter effect for the transport of , the TOS style of "beaming" sound effect was hunted down from studio archives by co-producer Wendy Neuss. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 3rd ed., p. 219) * The [[Star Trek Generations (soundtrack)|soundtrack of Star Trek Generations]] includes the sound effects of the Enterprise-D transporter as well as a Klingon transporter. * For reproducing the beaming sound for the film , Ben Burtt – who devised the film's sound effects – used the upper frequencies of a set of . "I was searching for a method by which they might have created the materialization tones in the original transporter. I wanted something like that," he related. "It was a magical sound but I don't know how they did it. I experimented with a lot of different things, and I found that if I started out with the very highest notes the chimes ... and I just did a finger roll ... you got a really good approximation of something that sounded like dematerialization or materialization." ("Ben Burtt and the Sounds of Star Trek", Star Trek (Blu-ray) special features) Special effects * One early method of depicting beaming involved an actual light beam between the transporter and its target. In a memo dated , however, Gene Roddenberry vetoed this idea. "I think we can safely forget the animated beam of light from the transporter chamber to the planet surface," he wrote. "It would be much cheaper and certainly handier from a story point of view to simply 'dematerialize' the passenger in the transporter chamber, 'rematerialize' him on the planet surface. We can also save the effect here of the crew being transported down a light beam to the planet." (The Making of Star Trek, p. 89) * The transporter effect was experimented with during production on , the first Star Trek pilot episode, and – on – Roddenberry sent another memo, this time criticizing the effect and providing recommendations on how he thought the appearance of beaming could be improved. He advised, "Eliminate the thick line around the crew members as they are transported. Have a subtle suggestion of sparkle rather than the Peter Pan sparkle presently being used. Get rid of the colored outline. Have crew members ''slowly dissolve. Maintain whole image with slight flickering of color instead of present solid color." Another suggestion that Roddenberry presented was that, when showing crew members materializing on a planet's surface, "''all the actors should have the same color effect instead of the present individual assortment of colors." (The Making of Star Trek, pp. 117-118) For an animation of an early version of the transporter effect, see Special Effects at StarTrekHistory.com. * The transporter effect ultimately used in The Original Series was a composite created by the Howard Anderson Company. Due to the differences required in each of the shots when the effect was shown, the TOS transporter effect could not rely on stock effects footage, unlike a lot of the series' other effects. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/anderson/page6.shtml Darrell Anderson created the shimmer by dropping aluminum dust through a strong light beam, filming this with an upside-down camera. ( text commentary, TOS Season 1 DVD) Dan Curry commented, "The composites were done on an optical printer, and they were basically glitter swizzled in a jar." ("The Making of A Legend", TNG Season 1 DVD special features) * The transporter effect was to have been recreated for Star Trek: Phase II. In a memo Gene Roddenberry sent to producer Robert Goodwin on , Roddenberry instructed Goodwin to write a rough draft of the Writer's Guide for the series and stated, "We should specify that the old-style transporter system will still be used (although we ourselves may improve the optical a little)." (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, p. 29) * The beaming effect was redone for by John Dykstra's company, Apogee, Inc. They combined two methods to create the effect. The company bought several expensive candy dishes, shattered them, mounted the broken shards of crystal on a motion-control mover and then shone an argon laser through them, rephotographing the patterns that the bits of crystal created on a wall, which are known as Lissajous patterns. This provided the outsides of the effect, whereas the center was created with filtration light flares and moire patterns that were done by moving one pattern atop another before rephotographing the result. Of the inner effect, Dykstra remarked, "was what we call a slot gag .... It was a two-dimensional effect that looked three-dimensional, because the convention of the way the moire looked." The sequence in the film wherein two transportees die in a malfunctioning transporter incorporated both of these effects methods as well as a third, using Mylar to distort footage of the two actors playing the victims. "Essentially what it was," continued Dykstra, "was a flat Mylar sheet which worked as a perfect optical mirror when left flat. But then when you distorted the surface, it created these very unusual optical distortions. So, we rephotographed the actors, in their normal form, through this mirror and did motion-controlled distortion of the mirror to create the distortion of their image." (audio commentary, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition)) * For , the transporter effects were provided by Visual Concept Engineering and some initial consideration went into re-envisioning the standard appearance of the effect. "The way we wanted to do the transporter effect would have been more interesting than what they ended up with," stated VCE's Peter Kuran. "We would have liked to show a person's body sort of building as he was beaming in... skeleton appearing first, then veins and finally clothing. Not exactly like ''This Island Earth, but more like an effect I saw once in The Outer Limits. But Paramount wanted a very high-tech electronic look, with a moire effect and strobes and flashes. And one of the things they emphasized was that they didn't want to use freeze-frames for the transporter process the way they had in the old series and the first movie. They tried to make a point of having people moving while they were being transported. We did a lot of articulate mattes to follow most of the action in those sequences, which took a lot of time. Then they decided they didn't want to see that effect, so we ended up throwing most of them away." (The Making of the Trek Films, 3rd ed., p. 34) VCE also provided transporter beam animation for . (Cinefex'' number 49, p. 41) * For Star Trek: The Next Generation, the production company Rick Zettner & Associates, Inc. produced a new transporter effect. Four different stages were used for this: the original photography of the actors disappearing; the "shower curtain" element, which initiated the beam-in and beam-out; the generic field of sparkles, which was actually glitter; and the final stage, which was residual glitter on the actor's chest or the center of the object that was meant to look like it was being transported. ("The Making of A Legend", TNG Season 1 DVD special features) File:TNG transporter effect 1.jpg|Effect stage one File:TNG transporter effect 2.jpg|Effect stage two File:TNG transporter effect 3.jpg|Effect stage three File:TNG transporter effect 4.jpg|Effect stage four * As J.J. Abrams found the old transporter effect two-dimensional, for the film , the energy beams were made to swirl around an actor and envelope every part of their body to make it look realistic. (Star Trek - The Art of the Film) * In Star Trek Adventure, where volunteers were picked from the audience, there was an optical illusion using lens distortion to simulate the transporter, which was then further edited to video for purchase after the show. Apocrypha A partial explanation for the difference between transporters between Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation is provided in the TNG novel Dark Mirror, where the Enterprise-D encounters a Mirror universe where the Terran Empire continues into the 24th century; when discussing the original crossover, Chief Miles O'Brien notes that transporters in Kirk's era were essentially more powerful, but a lot less sophisticated, with people lacking knowledge of how some spatial anomalies would affect the system even if its sheer power tended to compensate for those shortcomings. "Beam me up, Scotty" Although the catch phrase " " has worked its way into pop culture, the exact phrase itself has never been uttered in Star Trek. (Star Trek Encyclopedia) The closest usage to the phrase came in when Kirk requested "Scotty, beam me up"; similarly, in , Kirk stated "Beam me up, Mr. Spock." Only two other instances have used unqualified references to the phrase "Beam me up", and . External links * * * cs:Transportér de:Transporter es:Transportador it:Teletrasporto ja:転送装置 nl:Transporter pl:Transporter ru:Транспортер Transporter